April 20, 2004
Forward Doug Thomas, who helped Southeastern Community College of Burlington, IA to back-to-back junior college national titles the past two seasons, has signed a national letter of intent to continue his basketball career at the University of Iowa.
The 6-8, 250-pound Thomas is a native of Pasadena, CA. He attended Christian Faith Academy for one year before spending the last two seasons at Southeastern. Thomas helped Southeastern post a two-year record of 69-5 while winning two national titles. Thomas averaged 10.1 points and 6.7 rebounds as a sophomore, starting 29 of the 31 games he played. He shot 49% from the field and 63.4% from the free throw line, collecting 48 assists, 35 blocked shots and 33 steals as Southeastern posted a 32-4 record.
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“We’re excited to add Doug to our program. He is a very athletic forward who is a hard-nosed rebounder and solid defensive player. He is a very competitive player who has been associated with winning teams throughout his career. We feel Doug will fit in well with our returning players and make an immediate impact on our team.”
Iowa Coach Steve Alford
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Thomas led all players with 13 rebounds in the national title game, a figure that ties as the sixth highest total for a championship game. He averaged 10.5 points and 5.9 rebounds as a freshman as Southeastern posted a 37-1 record. In his freshman season he shot 52.5% from the field and 74.7% from the foul line, with 63 blocked shots, 32 steals and 28 assists. His coach at Southeastern was Joe O’Brien.
“We’re excited to add Doug to our program,” said Iowa Coach Steve Alford. “He is a very athletic forward who is a hard-nosed rebounder and solid defensive player. He is a very competitive player who has been associated with winning teams throughout his career. We feel Doug will fit in well with our returning players and make an immediate impact on our team.”
In one season at Christian Faith Center Academy in Creedmoor, NC Thomas averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots per game, helping his team post 21-6 record.
Thomas attended Inglewood HS in California as a prep senior after attending Pasadena, CA HS as a junior. He was two-time all-conference selection in California and was selected to the ABE All-Star contest and Hoops at the Beach contest. Thomas earned first team all-league and second team all-CIF honors as a sophomore Thomas competed on prep teams that compiled a three-year record of 79-24, winning at least 25 games in all three seasons. He led his high school team to Pacific League championships in consecutive seasons. Thomas averaged 21 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and three blocked shots as a senior after averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds as a junior. During his prep career he averaged 15.5 points, 10 rebounds and three assists per game, shooting 55.9% from the field and 72% from the free throw line.
Iowa returns three starters and six lettermen from the team that posted a 16-13 overall record in 2003-04, earning a fourth place finish in the Big Ten Conference and a fourth straight post-season appearance..